3 A.W. Beattie students selected to work at Pittsburgh Fashion Week

Pittsburgh Fashion Week features the work of local Pittsburgh designers, and three A.W. Beattie Cosmetology students were in on the action.

Maddie Clifton (Shaler), Erica Standfast (Shaler) and Olivia Soost (Northgate) were selected to be hair stylists and make-up artists Wednesday at a HIP at the Flash Factory event. They helped prep models and networked for about six hours before the fashion show, which highlighted a combination of body art and fashion.

“I feel like it was a good experience for knowing how the industry works in our area,” Erica said. “We met people from every part of the fashion industry.”

Olivia did make-up for eight models, the most of the group who were chosen after an invite was extended to Cosmetology instructor Ms. Joani Zelazowski by two Cosmetology alumni, Courtney Muzzey and Shanna McKaveney.

“I watched one of the professional make-up artists perform on one of the models, so I could feel comfortable doing it,” Olivia said. “I started doing make-up on people, and we mostly did smokey eyes. I thought it was really neat, because I’ve never done something like that.”

The opportunity to network, Maddie said, was a valuable experience.

“There were a lot of hair stylists there, so I got to watch professionals and asked a lot of questions,” she said. “It was a really cool experience and really eye-opening. We were meeting stylists, people who were higher up in companies and some were educators who teach people about hair.”

Their work at Pittsburgh Fashion Week could be the first of many opportunities in the fashion industry depending on the career paths they choose. 

Maddie has thought about traveling out-of-state to learn how different region approach make-up and hair styling.

“I always said I wanted to open my own place, but there are so many more options that I didn’t realize until I came to Beattie,” Maddie said. “I might consider moving to a city that has even more of a beauty industry like New York, LA or Vegas. I also feel like a lot of people tend to overlook Beattie, because they don’t think of Beattie the way it actually is. It can be a really great start.

Olivia will consider joining the military before joining her mom’s business or pursuing a career in cosmetology. 

“I was maybe 9 or 10 years old the first time I did effects make-up,” Olivia said. “I’ve always loved it since then, and I grew up watching youtube or Instagram to try to do new things with make-up and now I have (cosmetology) as a great option because of Beattie. There’s so many opportunities at Beattie. There’s Skills USA, Baettie 360 and there’s so many more (programs) than Cosmetology.”

The cosmetology program was a last-second choice by Erica who plans to use her hair-styling skills while attending college.

“I feel like I could accomplish a lot in cosmetology,” Erica said. “If I decide to go to college to try something else, I would definitely do this part-time at a salon, because you can make so much more money than working at a fast food place or retail. It also makes other people happy and you get to see their reaction when they look in the mirror. That’s always fun.”